Over the years, work has continued to develop improved lubricants and fuels. More recently, there have been numerous efforts directed toward reducing the energy required to operate machinery and other mechanical devices. An area receiving particular notice has been efforts directly toward reducing fuel consumption of internal combustion engines. These efforts have been spurred on by petroleum shortages, the increased cost of energy and the desire for conservation of natural resources. Although recent increases in the availability of petroleum products along with a corresponding reduction in cost have lessened the urgency to improve fuel efficiency, it is reasonably certain that these conditions are only temporary. It is recognized that a situation where energy requirements are reduced is desirable, both because of the conservation factor and because such a situation is economical for the user of the machinery or mechanical device.
Many of the proposed solutions to the problem of reducing energy requirements have been mechanical, as for example, designing equipment to operate more efficiently, building smaller cars and smaller engines and adjusting engines to use a leaner fuel mixture. Other efforts have related to developing lubricants that reduce the overall friction of the engine thereby reducing energy requirements. Some synthetic lubricants have been developed and compounded for use in the automobile engine to reduce fuel consumption. A considerable amount of effort has been expended toward developing additives for use in mineral lubricating oils and greases to reduce the friction property of the oils and greases.
1,3-dioxolanes and their thio analogs are known, as are numerous derivatives thereof. They have been known for many years as flavorings and aroma-enhancing agents. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,837,273; 4,262,030; 2,421,770; 3,748,344. 1,3-dioxolane has been mentioned as a stabilizer for chlorinated solvents. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,860,665; 3,862,250; 3,887,628; and others. U.S. Pat. No. 3,470,206 teaches that organic ethers and thioethers are useful in organic synthesis and may be used in other applications such as lubricating oil additives, ore floatation agents, pesticides for the destruction of houseflies, etc. Succinic derivatives are described as useful in lubricants and/or fuels. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,900,411 and 3,910,845. Cyano-substituted heterocyclic compounds are described as hydraulic fluids in Australian patent specification AU548,921 (Chemical Abstracts 105:100247r). U.S. Pat. 4,390,345 teaches 1,3-dioxolane and C.sub.1-4 substituted derivatives are useful in gasolines containing manganese anti-knock additives. Nitro derivatives are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,763 as cetane improvers for diesel fuels.
Efforts are continuing in the industry to discover or develop new and improved additives for lubricants and fuels. In particular, materials which provide added performance benefits over prior art materials are of particular interest. In particular, additives which provide fuel-consumption reducing properties are of interest, particularly if the additives do not detract from some other performance characteristic. Multi-functional additives, i.e., those that provide more than one benefit, are of particular interest.
To the extent the references cited hereinabove and in the text that appears hereinafter are applicable to the present invention, they are hereby incorporated by reference herein for such disclosures.